Cute kitty needs new home

Is there any way you could hold on (aka foster) the kitten until a home was found?

While most rescue groups are usually full, they've been willing to help advertise a cat/kitten (via PetFinder) so that more people might have a chance to see him.

It's worth a shot, better than the kitten being dumped in a high-kill shelter or worse... being harmed by the nephew.

As an offshoot, it seems like your nephew may have been through a lot and may be acting out on this kitten.. As we all know, violence against animals begets violence against people later... Has your sister in law thought of getting this boy counseling? I'm sure that CPS, medicaid (which I think should cover the kids) should be able to set something up. That's a real issue you don't want to let slide.

Yes he HAS been through a lot. He was in counseling when he was in foster care. He's SUPPOSED to still be in counseling since they're still under CPS supervision for a few more weeks. I guess she took the boys to their new pediatrician the other day and after 20 minutes with him the dr said "I'm making a referral for a psychologist ASAP!" Mom has all kinds of mental health issues as well as does dad (my brother). He is very violent & aggressive towards his sibs as well. He walked over and BIT his 7 year old sister for NO reason while I was there the other day. He is a highly disturbed child and I am EXTREMELY concerned about his future and that of his siblings (& this sweet little kitty). It's a sad, sad situation. It broke my heart to send the 3 kids I had back into that environment but I had NO choice. I will have to say though, the cats have enjoyed not having the kids here. LOL

That's so sad. I hope mom sticks with the counseling.

I'd follow catherder's advice and, if possible, foster the little guy until a home is found. Good luck.

I don't know if my husband would go for that. Our 3 youngest cats that we have were SUPPOSED to be fosters. That was 2 years ago! LOL

We're dealing with some pretty serious medical issues with my hubby right now too so unfortunately I don't know that taking in another tiny mouth to feed is in anyone's best interest right now.

I guess my SIL took the boys to their new pediatrician the other day and after spending 20 minutes with him, she told SIL that she was making a referral to a child psychologist ASAP. She said he is her #1 priority right now. He desperately needs help. I tried telling everyone that when he was in our home but no one listened. Everyone wanted to say it was just because of everything he'd been through and that he wanted to be home. Well now he's home and his issues have gotten worse. It's a mess! I just hope sweet little Halo finds a new, SAFE home. He's such a cute little kitty.

Where did she get the cat? Did she adopt it from some place? If so, why can't she just return it?

If nothing else, she can surrender it to HSI. While not the best place, it would be a better option than the kitten being injured or killed.

I'm not sure where she got it. I think from someone she knows, but not sure. She was talking about calling Cats Haven and seeing if they can take him. Poor little guy. He sure is a cutie!

Try to post some ads on internet like "Free kittens want home". I just found a couple homes for 2 kittens last week. A bun of people called me and asked for the kittens. SO I believe it is not that hard to find them a home if you give them free.

BAD IDEA!!!

What Could Happen To An Animal From A "Free To Good Home" Ad?

-Tortured or killed by animal abusers
-Sold to research labs for experiments
-Used as bait for fighting dogs
-Used as food for snakes
-Victims of neglect

What Is A "Buncher?"

A buncher either steals or "adopts" companion animals for the purpose of selling the animal. Bunchers can sell animals for one or more of the following reasons:

-To be used in research labs
-To be used as bait, for example, to train dogs in fighting rings
-To be used as breeding stock in puppy mills or catteries

"Bunchers" can be very deceptive and they prey on people who place "free to good home" ads. They will sometimes use children as part of the ploy and present themselves as a "perfect" family. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

More info here: http://www.theanimalspirit.com/free.html

People value what they pay for. Pets obtained for free are are less likely to be spayed or neutered by their new owners (why bother with vet bills?), and more likely to be abused and/or discarded, because "there are plenty more where that came from!"

Still more:

http://www.petrescue.com/library/free-pet.htm

The Tragedy of "Free To Good Home"

© Copyright 1997-2000, PetRescue.Com

Most people have good intentions when they advertise a cat or dog as "Free To Good Home". They care what happens to the animal and are not interested in making money. All they want to do is find a nice family that is willing to give the pet a loving, responsible home.

The tragedy occurs when the animal is mistakenly put into a situation where it is neglected, abandoned, abused, or even sold for lab experimentation. Sadly, this sort of thing happens thousands of times each day across America.

Giving any pet away is misguided. People tend not to value what they don't pay for. If you charge a nominal fee of $35-$45 or more for an animal, the new owner is more likely to take their commitment to the pet seriously. A free pet is a disposable pet!

Paying a fee for a pet shows good faith on the part of the new owner and demonstrates their willingness to properly care for the animal. The truth is, there is no such thing as a "free" pet anyway. By the time a cat or dog is checked out by a vet, including shots, worming, health testing, and spay/neuter, a "free" pet will easily cost in excess of $100, and that's just for starters. A responsible person who would properly take care of an animal will understand this and will not be opposed to paying a reasonable fee for a healthy pet, especially if some or all of these health items have already been taken care of.

Still not convinced? Then ask yourself these questions, "If a person cannot afford to pay an adoption fee for a pet, how will they be able to afford the normal expenses of proper pet care? And how will they ever afford vet bills when the pet gets sick?"

If you are uncomfortable with asking a fee for the pet, consider including food, toys, supplies, etc. as an added incentive. The idea is not to make a profit, but to ensure the good intentions of the new owner. In any event, the animal should be "fixed" and have its "shots" before it is adopted out and these costs alone can easily equal $45 or more. Use the adoption fee to recoup your expenses.

One final thought on this subject - if you absolutely don't want to take any money yourself, ask the adoptor to make the check out to a local animal shelter or SPCA instead. These organizations can surely use the help!

What can happen to a pet that is given free to a casual, uncommitted owner?

Abandoned to the streets. This is the most likely scenario that occurs when an uncommitted owner tires of a pet. Street animals suffer every day of their short lives. The end always comes painfully, either from violent trauma or from lingering disease.

Handed over to Animal Control and euthanized. People who do not take their responsibilities seriously always take the easy way out!

Marginally Owned. The pet will not be cared for properly and is often allowed to roam the streets.

Abused. The owner will not make the effort to properly train the animal. Often this leads to inappropriate responses from the owner and abuse of the pet when it "misbehaves".

Next, we would like you to be aware that there are dishonest people who routinely obtain animals for profit by fraudulently answering "Free To Good Home" ads. They are usually very persuasive and friendly. They know all the "right" answers to your questions because they do this sort of thing on a regular basis. Some may even bring their kids along to make you think they are a loving family!

The most important thing you can do to discourage this kind of person is to charge an adoption fee! This makes it much more difficult for them to realize a profit so they will usually not bother contacting you.

What can happen to an animal if you let one of these con artists have it?

Used to "live train" fighting dogs. The animal you expected to be a pet is used to bait a fighting dog and is literally torn to pieces.

Sold at Flea Markets or Auctions to anybody who happens along. Most of the time these animals are neglected, kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions and often become sick and diseased.

Sold to a Class-B Dealer who then resells the animal to a research facility. People who practice the despicable act of rounding up strays to sell them are referred to as "Bunchers". At the research facility, the animal may suffer abuse and most likely will be euthanized after they are finished with it.

Used for breeding stock in a "Puppy Mill". The living conditions in most of these establishments are deplorable. Bitches have continuous litters, one after the another.

Used as live food or bait for exotics like snakes or alligators.

Sacrificed in cult rituals. Some people find this hard to believe, but the FBI has many files documenting this kind of activity in our country.

How can you help to prevent these tragedies?

Convince your local newspapers to post warnings in their pet classified sections! A lot of papers across the country are already doing this.

Call "Free To Good Home" ads and warn them! Check newspapers regularly and let people know what could happen to their pet and tell them how to prevent this avoidable situation.

Advise people not to adopt out pets at Halloween! Solid black and solid white cats are especially in danger at this time of the year. Cult members and vicious pranksters are on the lookout for animal victims. It is a common practice of most shelters and rescue organizations to never adopt out black or white cats during the Halloween season.

Pass on these tips to persons who are adopting out animals:

Don't give pets away! Reference the reasons previously given in this article.

Be sure to "fix" the pet before adoption to prevent more "Free To Good Home" ads! Find out if the local humane or others will spay or neuter the animal for a reasonable cost. Use the adoption fee to recoup your money.

The most important thing you can do to stop animal abuse is to spay or neuter your pets!

Honestly, they weren't my kittens tho. Just a feral cat came to my yard and had the kittens there. They best I could do is help them to find a good home. And I am getting the mom fixed next week and send her back to outside. I did have a contact with them that they have to get the kittens fixed when they turn to 6 months old. Sending them to shelter or animal control, well.. I asked them, they only got 50 50 chance. So I would rather find them a home than send them to those places. I am not a big cat lover, but there are the best I could do for them.

Sorry. You feed them, they're YOURS. It's only $25 (each) to get them fixed AND a round of vaccines from Indy Feral. It cna be done when they're just 8 weeks old!

That's not too much to be sure that those kittens will never contribute to the overpopulation of homeless animals.

As I am just an international student here and I just came to USA about 4 months ago. I had tried a lot of thing. I talked to animal control, humane, shelters, police, and vet. What they told me were not helping me at all. All they said were "well try to find a home for them." "We have no room here" or "You know what will happen" So what, they were just trying to put some sh*t on me. I have never had a cat and really got no money on hand to take them to regular vet. They only place I knew is cheap is FACE. I have been calling them for 4 months and always is voice information. If you still think I was so wrong, then that is your choice. I don't wanna argue with you, these are different opinions. I can't make you to like me or what. Just wanna say it again that was the best I could do at that point. I asked, I tried, I don't feel bad. But anyway thanks for you information, if it ever happens again, I know where I will need to go and what i will need to do. Thanks.

However, you seem to be able to use a computer. I went to a search engine and typed in "low cost spay and neuter", took a few seconds, pulled up this (along with several others):

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sndatabase

It gives a list of several locations, more or less depending on how far you're willing to drive. Either way, the very first listing is "Alley Cat Allies" which is a group that specializes in feral/stray cats.